EMA Human Rights Blog

The Forgotten ‘Lion Cubs’

by Cassandra Bockstael“Children in ISIL controlled territory are the responsibility of their parents, we will not put ourselves at risk for people who decided to leave for this region”.

This
citation comes from Peter de Roover, head of N-VA at the Belgian Parliament. Currently,
162 minors residing in Syria and Iraq have at least one parent of Belgian
nationality. According to Belgian law, even if these children are not born on Belgian
territory, they have Belgian nationality and are Belgian citizens.

Whereas the government officially grants an unconditional “laissez passer” for children under 10 years old, for the remaining children, an individual assessment is required. In addition, as mentioned by Peter de Roover, children under 10 are allowed to return to Belgian territory. However, nothing will be done to try to repatriate them. These children are considered to be under the exclusive responsibility of their parents.

Recently, the Belgian Court of Justice has ruled that Belgium has no legal obligation to repatriate these Belgian children living in a highly sensitive conflict zone or in refugee camps. The attorney general acknowledged that Belgium “may have a moral duty to repatriate those children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child but has no legal obligation since the children are not under the jurisdiction of the Belgian authorities”. This ruling confirms the view of the Belgian authorities on the question.

“Most of the children in the region are aged between 0 and 3, and 75% of them are under 6 years old.”

According to recent CUTA (Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis) statistics, most of the children in the region are aged between 0 and 3, and 75% of them are under 6 years old. In May of this year, Child Focus called the Belgian authorities to retrieve Belgian children from Syria and Iraq. The organisation asked the governmental authorities and security services to assess whether and how it is possible to help those children, but the situation remains unchanged. According to Child Focus, these children live in precarious conditions, mostly in refugee camps across the territory. Contrary to what is thought, they do not pose a security threat. Several parents and grandparents appealed Child Focus to help them to get their relatives back. Despite the information showing the harmlessness of those children, the Belgian government remains insensitive to their plight.

The Belgian case echoes the situation of France, which is the European country with the most citizens in Syria and Iraq. Around 700 French nationals are fighting for ISIL and 2,000 have travelled to join the organisation. Consequently, 500 French minors are located in the region, some in refugee camps and some in Daesh’s structures. In both Belgium and France, adults who have left for Syria will be trialled when they return. However, the French authorities seem to show, at least in theory, a bit more willingness to repatriate those children, with the help of the Red Cross. The children who already returned were followed by specialised experts in order to enhance and improve their recovery. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that those children are still considered a potential threat, and this is why they are strictly monitored.

“These children are intentionally left in highly dangerous situations”

There is a
clear trend among European countries to fear these so called “lions of the
caliphate” and any child who could potentially have been in contact with
extremist ideologies. As a consequence, these children are intentionally left
in highly dangerous situations. In addition, their relatives are left powerless
and have no legal means to try to get them back to the country. This reaction
is highly worrying considering the living conditions and the known impact of
armed conflict on the psychological development of children. The situation raises
questions from moral—but
also political and legal—perspectives.

Considering
the current pressing humanitarian situation and the lack of action coming from
the international community, Belgium and other European states must repatriate
these children. If the state supposed to bear the responsibility for the
well-being of its citizens withdraws, what hope is left for these children?

Background information:

N-VA(Nieuw-Vlaams Alliantie) is a center-right Belgian political party with Flemish nationalistic ideology. N-VA advocates for a Belgian confederation. Several important governmental positions relevant to the topic are held by N-VA politicians, suchas Ministry of Interior (J. Jambon), Ministry of Defense (S. Vandeput) and the Secretary of State to Asylum and Migration (T. Francken). The latter is firmly criticised for his strict anti-migration policy.

Child Focus is a Belgian organisation also known as the European Center for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children. Created in 1996, its aims are to prevent missing children, abduction, runaways and sexual abuses and exploitation.

After obtaining her bachelor in law at the Catholic University of Louvain, Cassandra graduated in 2018 from the University of Antwerp (LLM). She mostly resided in Antwerp but also travelled to Sydney and Geneva to obtain her major in Human Rights and Sustainable Development. She is mostly interested in issues related to children and armed conflict, terrorism and transitional justice.